If actions speak louder than words, Martavis Bryant’s making it clear to the Pittsburgh Steelers that he wants to be traded. On Monday Bryant was a no show at team meetings. According to his agent, Thomas Santanello, Bryant went to a doctor Monday morning and did not report the Steelers facility. His absence only lends credence to trade speculation that started two weeks ago.
Martavis Bryant No Show at Pittsburgh Steelers Facility on Monday
In The Beginning…
Rumors started swirling two weeks ago over whether Bryant wants to be traded from the five and two Steelers. While speculation has run rampant. Last week, after the Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 19-13, Bryant’s girlfriend mentioned a trade on social media. He quickly got on social media and dispelled the trade rumors. Now this week, Bryant’s behavior has become more erratic.
Chapter Two
After the Steelers week seven win against the Cincinnati Bengals the rumors started again. ESPN reported that a source close to Bryant said, “He wants out, point blank.” Then Bryant himself seemed to pour gas on the fire. In a late-night Instagram post he urged the Steelers front office to “give me what I want.” Bryant’s Instagram post is now deleted. But Bryant responded to a fan that claimed JuJu Smith-Schuster was better than him. He replied to the fan by saying “JuJu (Smith-Schuster) is no where near better than me, fool,” then continued, “All they need to do is give me what I want and y’all can have JuJu and whoever else.”
This is not the first time that Bryant has taken to social media to comment on Smith-Schuster. When the Steelers drafted Smith-Schuster in the second round of this year’s draft Bryant tweeted “lol that’s Sammie Coates replacement not minds take it how you want to I am back.” (Tweet since deleted, but reactions not.) That prediction did turn out to be true. Sammie Coates is no longer with the Steelers, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns before the 2017 season.
Why Bryant is Upset
There is a case to be made for why Bryant is frustrated, but these types of situations should be handled behind closed doors, not on social media. The way he’s currently handling the situation makes Bryant look immature and easily irritated. Not to mention a negative locker room presence. Bryant has been one of the best deep threats in the league when he’s on the field. But Ben Roethlisberger has a league low completion percentage on deep passes. That is, passes that travel more than 20 yards in the air. This is the polar opposite of Roethlisberger’s 2016 season (which Bryant missed) when he led the league in deep passing touchdowns. Also, between Le’Veon Bell‘s 30 plus rushing attempts per game, and Antonio Brown‘s 10 or more targets. It’s fair to say that Bryant has been essentially been relegated to a second tier option in the offense.
The Stats
In week seven Bryant opened up the game on a reverse where he gained two yards. It seemed like the Steelers were committed to working him into the game plan. But it didn’t happen. He finished with one reception for three yards and was only targeted twice. The week before, against the then undefeated Chiefs, Bryant had two receptions for 27 yards on three targets. Obviously, five targets in two weeks are not enough for a player of Bryant’s caliber.
Issues With Trading Bryant
Even though he still has two years on his rookie contract, any team trading for him would be taking a major risk. Bryant is scheduled to make $724,805 in 2017 and $705,000 in 2018. This ordeal involving Bryant demanding a trade makes him look like a negative locker room influence. Then there’s the fact that Bryant is one failed drug test away from being kicked out of the NFL.
With all of that taken into account it’s hard to gauge what exactly his market value would be. The New Orleans Saints traded Adrian Peterson, arguably the best running back of the last decade, to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional draft pick. Would any team really be willing to take on all of the baggage that would come with acquiring Bryant from the Steelers? What would the Steelers asking price be if they traded Bryant? If the Steelers and Bryant do decide to part ways, the Steelers would take a $109,805 dead money hit against next season’s salary cap.
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